The men's tennis team (6-0) is gearing up for a big home weekend -- a weekend which will feature its first Big Ten dual meet.

At 11:30 tomorrow morning, the team will square off against Wisconsin at the Penn State Tennis Club.

The team is coming off Tuesday's 5-1 victory over Temple, and is still undefeated this season.

"(Temple) was definitely the confidence-builder for this weekend," Greg Gaunt said.

This time, however, Lions are playing the role of underdogs.

"(Wisconsin) is one of the upper-tier teams in the Big Ten," Coach Jan Bortner said. "All the Big Ten teams are tough, but (Wisconsin) is one of the toughest."

"It's going to be a huge challenge," Ivan Spinner said. "I hope we can accept it."

To make the challenge even tougher, Penn State will be without the services of Marc Price. Price injured his knee in Tuesday's meet against Temple, an injury which is expected to keep him out of action for at least two weeks.

"We've just got to go with the players that we have and do the best we can," Bortner said. "Anytime you lose your (No.) 1 or 2 guy, it's going to hurt you. (And) Price is our top doubles player, also."

"It's disappointing to see," Gaunt said of Price's injury. "Marc was ready to come back."

In Price's absence, the third to sixth seeds -- Gaunt, Spinner, Chad Skorupka and Corey Goldstein, respectively -- will move up one slot. In addition, Brett Englesberg will move into the starting lineup, playing in the sixth position. Top-seeded Eduardo Abril is recovering from an ankle injury suffered against Temple. His condition is day-to-day, Bortner said, though he is expected to play this weekend.

Price's absence will also shake up the doubles ranks. Gaunt will team with Marc Payne in the top slot, Englesberg and Spinner remain the second seed and Abril and Skorupka will again team as the third seed.

"It's going to be tough -- (Wisconsin) is a very good team, but I'm looking forward to it," Abril said.

Sunday, the team will face University of Pittsburgh at 2:30.

"The big thing with Pittsburgh is that we've got to bounce back after a huge match against Wisconsin," Bortner said.

Spinner said he and the team are not worried about physical fatigue due to the matches.

"We practice hard enough and long enough to get in the right shape," he said. "Three matches in five days is really nothing."